Big day for personal bests at LBHS Invitational

BY RICK LEWIS

On a beautiful and mostly calm Tuesday (April 19) afternoon, the Liberty Bell Invitational Track and Field Meet turned into a festival of personal records and outstanding performances by local and regional high school athletes at Mountain Lion Stadium. In all, 144 personal bests were recorded by athletes of the seven attending schools from North Central Washington.

“We had over 20 PRs set on Tuesday,” Liberty Bell coach Erik Brooks said. “That was pretty amazing.”

Sophomore Sandra Hernandez led the way, setting three marks of her own: placing 2nd in the 200-meter dash, and winning both the 400M run (1:06.71) and javelin (78 feet, 11 inches). Freshman Zoe Kaltenbach also set three PRs on the day, running to 6thplace finishes in the 200M and 400M and placing 7th in the javelin.

Leki Albright set a new personal best on her way to victory in the 1,600M run with her best-ever time of 5:34.37, the third-fastest statewide time in the 2B classification this year. Albright doubled her win total on the day about an hour later in the 800M, defeating a field of five runners in 2:36.94.

Freshmen Kady Hammer (100M, shot put) and Izabel Bajema (100M, javelin) posted two PRs each and Savannah Bird added one of her own in the javelin. There were several outstanding performances on the boys’ side. Perhaps the statement race of the day was in the 3,200M, where freshman Dexter Delaney had his sights set not just on his personal record, but on the school record, set by Ben Klemmeck in his senior year, 2016. Delaney jumped out from the start and set a blistering pace, lapping the field twice on his way to being only the second Mountain Lion to break the 10-minute mark, completing his eight orbits around the track in 9:55.03, just over three seconds slower than Klemmeck’s school record of 9:51.36.

“He really wanted it, but just missed it. It was a great run, though,” said the coach Brooks said. “He certainly could do it at some point.”

Sophomore Will Halpin, returning to the track for the first time in several weeks, led wire-to-wire in the 1600M, turning in a time of 4:53.57. Aksel Thomson took the top spot in the 800M with a personal best of 2:14.25.

Kyler Mitchell joined the PR fest with a victory in the 300M intermediate hurdles, setting his best career mark at 46.39. In the field events, Fischer Edwards garnered two 2nd-place rankings in the javelin (124 feet, 4 inches) and the shot put (33 feet, 5 inches) to go with his PR of the day in the 200M on the track. Mitchell teamed up with Thomson, Halpin and John Chavez-Hernandez to close out the meet with a victory in the 4x400M relay.

Holden Riggs (100M and 200M) and George ChavezHernandez joined the doublePR club, Isaiah Stoothoff ran a PR 25.66 in the 200M to 4th place overall, and Omar Ortega also set a PR in the 200M.

Saturday (April 23) at the Quincy Invitational, Dexter Delaney doubled in the 800M and 1,600M, where he placed 4th in the former and took the top spot at 4:35.08 in the latter. Will Halpin was 5th overall (4:50.15). Aksel Thomson was a strong 2nd place in the 3,200M, setting another PR in that event. Kyler Mitchell placed 7th in the 300M hurdles. Fischer Edwards’ javelin throw of 126 feet, 7 inches was good for 7th place, and the top B class thrower of the day.

Leki Albright took 2nd in the 3,200M in a personal record time of 11:33.28. Sandra Hernandez was the only other Liberty Bell girl to compete at Quincy, placing 10th in the javelin.

The Central Washington 2B League Championships are scheduled for Liberty Bell High School on Wednesday, May 11.

Tennis

The Mountain Lions had three matches scheduled over the last week with trips to Soap Lake on Tuesday (April 19), a Wednesday (April 20) match at Manson and a scheduled Thursday (April 21) home match with Pateros that was delayed until Friday when the weather was slated to improve.

At Soap Lake, the boys swept the Eagles aside, 5-0. Haizea Alvarez and Amelia Evans each won their singles matches as the girls split, 2-2. At Manson, rain washed out the bulk of the afternoon activities. Before the downpour, the Mountain Lions had some success against the Trojans, the doubles pair of Connor Herlihy and Gannet Fisher winning their match, 6-2, 6-4. Angel Arrellano managed a split, winning set one 6-3, dropping set two 5-7 before the rains came and the match was stopped as a draw.

Alvarez and Evans teamed up at Manson for a doubles match, losing a tough-fought battle, 4-6 and 4-6, according to Assistant Coach Keri Miles. “They were due to play singles after but got rained out,” Miles said. “The No. 2 girls’ doubles was mid-match when we got rained out, however they were fighting back after losing the first set 2-6, and were at a second set score of 6-6.”

At Pateros, the boys came away with a sweep of the Billygoats, winning all of

Morel harvesting permits available in May

People hoping for a share of the earthy mushrooms that often pop up after a wildfire can apply for a commercial harvesting permit for morels from the Methow Valley Ranger District starting Monday (May 2).

People can collect up to 5 gallons a day for their own use without a permit, as long as they carry a copy of the Free Incidental Use Mushroom Information Sheet while they’re foraging.

Commercial permits are required for anyone who plans to sell mushrooms or collect more than 5 gallons per day.

Permits are $30 for two days, $80 for 30 days, and $100 for the season, which runs from May 2 through July 31.

Permits will be sold at the ranger district office in Winthrop. Maps are available for harvest areas in the Cedar Creek and Cub Creek 2 fire areas.

With the possibility that there will be a lot of mushroom pickers in burned areas, the U.S. Forest Service advises people that these areas are vulnerable as they recover from the fire. “As forest visitors search for mushrooms in our fire-affected lands, I ask you to keep in mind that these burned lands are exceptionally vulnerable to disturbance, and practicing leave-no-trace etiquette is very important,” Naches District Ranger Aaron Stockton said. There is also the potential for hazards. “While hazard trees have been treated in developed sites, the same cannot be said for general forest areas. Mushroom pickers should be particularly aware of dead trees when they choose areas to park and stop for breaks or lunch. Dead trees may fall or have branches fall out of them unexpectedly,” Methow Valley District Ranger Chris Furr said.

The Twentyfive Mile Fire area in the Chelan Ranger District will be open for personal, noncommercial mushroom harvest only because it is drier and not expected to produce large quantities of morels. It will also provide an area where people harvesting morels for their own use don’t have to compete with commercial pickers. their scheduled singles and doubles matches in straight sets. Amelia Evans won her singles match, 6-3 and 6-1, then matched up with Amelie Stracke to win their doubles match.

The Forest Service has designated campgrounds for commercial pickers, which will have garbage dumpsters and toilets. There will be three camps in the Methow Valley Ranger District — at the Eight Mile dispersed camping site on the west edge of the Cub Creek 2 burn area, the Cedar Creek gravel pit on the north edge of the Cedar Creek burn area, and the Thompson Ridge gravel pit south of the Cedar Creek burn area.

Commercial harvesters are prohibited from camping in developed campgrounds, at trailheads, or in other high-use recreation areas.

The mushroom information sheet is can be printed from the forest website at https:// go.usa.gov/xQ3YJ or picked up at the ranger district.

The Mountain Lions hosted Oroville in a home match late Tuesday (April 26). Thursday (April 28) they travel to Entiat and Friday (April 29) the Omak Pioneers come to Liberty Bell for a 4 p.m. start time at the Liberty Bell tennis courts.

Baseball

In a battle for the top spot in the Central Washington B League, Liberty Bell hosted the Brewster Bears last Tuesday at Mountain Lion Field. Liberty Bell jumped out to a first-inning 1-0 lead, set up when Eli Neitlich was walked by Brewster pitcher A.J. Woodward. Noah Holston drilled a shot to right field, came in to pitch the seventh, and pitched well according to Aspholm. “The error thing bit us again,” he said. Of the four runs charged to Surface, none were earned. The Mountain Lions were scheduled to play at Lake Roosevelt on Tuesday, weather permitting. The Raiders come to Liberty Bell on Friday in what could determine the No. 2 spot in the league with only a few games left in the season before District playoffs. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

Soccer

Liberty Bell boys’ soccer looked to be turning a corner, first with a win over Pateros coming off of spring break on April 18, then came a tough 3-1 loss to Manson in the rain last Thursday.

Post-game comments by coach David Marz were clear after the Manson loss: Liberty Bell needs to play with a more aggressive style with more contact, rush the ball, force the action more. “We’ve been outplayed physically. Our team plays hard, they hustle and work hard. We just get out-muscled and pushed around a little,” the coach said.

On Saturday the young Mountain Lions appeared to take a more assertive tack in facing Okanogan. The Bulldogs showed themselves as bigger, faster and stronger, scoring twice in both halves and shutting down the Mountain Lions with an aggressive, physical style of play on defense. Okanogan applied consistent pressure, resulting in two goals in each half for the 4-0 win.

It’s a busy week for Liberty Bell soccer, with a Tuesday game at home with Oroville, followed by Thursday at home (4:30 p.m.) versus Tonasket and a rematch, at home, with Brewster on Saturday, 11 a.m. kickoff.

Softball advancing Neitlich to second. He moved to third on a Damon Alumbaugh single, then was driven home by Sawyer Crandall.

In that first inning, the Mountain Lions felt they had a chance to really jump on Woodward, getting five runners on base with three hits and two free passes.

“We just had trouble getting runs across the plate,” said assistant coach Bret Alumbaugh.

Holston scored in the third inning to put Liberty Bell up by a 2-1 count. The Bears scored their initial tally in the top of the third, then added a run in the fourth to tie the game at 2, and an unearned run on two errors in the fifth inning, followed by a four-run seventh and the final count of 7-2 for Brewster.

Alumbaugh took the loss on the mound, giving up only one earned run. Mac Surface

Rink Opens For Summer Activities

The Winthrop Rink will reopen for summer operations next week, starting with drop-in pickleball on Monday (May 2). Summer programs include:

• Pickleball, Mondays and Thursdays, 6 – 8 p.m., Saturday 9 – 11 a.m., through September. $4 admission, punch cards and season passes available. Paddles, balls, nets free. Try pickleball free the first Monday of the month starting May 2.

• Roller/inline skating, Fridays and Saturdays 6 – 9 p.m. in June, July, August. $6 adults, $4 youth (6 – 17)/seniors, 5 and under free. Skate rentals $2. Helmets, knee/wrist/elbow pads free. Season passes available. Kids skate for free the last Saturday of the month.

• Roller/inline hockey, Wednesdays 6 – 8 p.m. in June, July, August. $6 adults, $4 youth (6 – 17)/ seniors, 5 and under free. Skate rentals $2. Helmets, knee/wrist/elbow pads free. Season passes available.

• Rentals — the skating facility or, separately, the upstairs viewing room are available for rent, by the hour or by the day. Visit www.winthroprink.org, email sbondi@ winthroprink.org or call (509) 996-4199 for additional information.

‘OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC NIGHT’

The Methow Valley Nordic Ski Education Foundation will host a free “Olympic and Paralympic

Liberty Bell traveled to Brewster for a double-header with the second place Bears, Brewster earning two fiveinning victories, 12-0 and 12-1. “There isn’t much to say after that,” said head coach Chad Surface. “It was frustrating because we know we are better than what we showed.”

Surface said that Brewster had Liberty Bell’s pitchers figured out and that while the Mountain Lions got some hits and had opportunities, they just couldn’t get girls across home plate.

Two more sets of games are on the schedule for Liberty Bell, both home doubleheaders this Friday versus Lake Roosevelt, and Tuesday (May 3) the Bridgeport Fillies come to campus to close out the home schedule and Senior Day. First pitch both days will be at 3:30 p.m.

Night” celebration, with personal appearances by the Methow Valley’s 2022 Olympians — Novie McCabe and Erin Martin — on Thursday, May 5, from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at the Winthrop Barn. Presentations, Q&A, films and autograph signing will be included.

The gathering is open to the public, For more information and to RSVP, visit https:// methowvalleynordic.com/events/olympic-andparalympic-night.

Nature Walk

Methow At Home is offering a beaver loop nature walk with Eric Burr on Monday (May) 2 from 9 a.m. – noon, starting at the Jack’s trailhead parking lot off of Highway 20. Register at methowathome.org.

LOUP UPDATE

Updating last week’s report on summer activities at Loup Loup Ski Bowl, which will include chairlift rides, disc golf, mountain biking, and meals at the lodge: “We will be running the lift on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays this summer,” Executive Director Brent Nourse said, “and we are expecting to rent bikes Thursdays through Sundays.”

“We’ve had supply chain issues due to COVID,” Nourse said, “but we’re hopeful that it [equipment] will arrive in time to get the disc golf course in place by early summer.” Visit https://skitheloup.com for summer offerings, hours, and ticket prices.

Eric Norwick

Eric Jonathon Norwick unexpectedly went to be with the Lord on Oct. 8, 2021, in Winthrop, Washington. Eric was born July 2, 1973, to John and Mary Norwick in Walla Walla, Washington. Growing up he played school sports, and also loved playing tetherball and video games. He attended Walla Walla High School.

Eric was a hard worker, always finished anything he started and excelled as a chef. He was a gogetter and seeker of adventure and in 2001 moved to Valdez, Alaska, where he lived for almost five years. Eric made many friends and memories there but ended up moving back to Washington. In May 2012 he had a daughter, Sykora, whom he loved and adored with all of his heart. In July 2020 he married Khristina Oestreich.

Charles Warren Pruett

Charles Warren Pruett of Winthrop, Washington, passed away on April 17, 2022, at the age of 94, just shy of his 95th birthday. He moved in 2018 from the Skagit Valley, where he had lived for 35 years, to the Methow Valley to join the wonderful community of elders and caregivers at Jamie’s Place.

Chuck, as he was affectionately known by family and friends, was born on April 30, 1927, in San Francisco, California, to John Floyd Pruett and Marguerite Victorine (Mathé) Pruett. He and his older brother, John Mathe Pruett, grew up in the “avenues” adjacent to the city’s Golden Gate Park and they spent summers with extended family and friends in Healdsburg near the Russian River. His early childhood experiences fostered his adventurer spirit and love of the outdoors. While a student at Wilkens High School he joined the Bay Area Sea Scouts where sailing captured his heart. His fellow scouts became life-long friends. He also joined the Dolphin Club, swimming miles in the bay’s cold waters each morning, and was known for winning a 3-hour race for his age group from Aquatic Park on the city’s front around Alcatraz and back. Chuck was a connoisseur of old folk songs and sea shanties, which he loved to sing. He had a song for every occasion, and typically had a joke or a prank to go with it.

After graduating from Wilkens High School in 1945, he joined the U.S. Navy and served in the Medical Corp stationed on Treasure Island in the Bay Area during the final year of WWII. After leaving the Navy he studied at University of California Berkeley toward an associate

Senior News

We have been so overwhelmed with donations that we have to put out the “no more donations” sign sometimes. We only have so much room in the sorting area. So bear with us, we are working as fast as we can.

We are also low on paper bags again, so if you have some to spare we can use them. Or bring your own bags if you can. Call this number if you need any medical

Marriage licenses

Rita Christine Huisman, 61, Winthrop, and Curtis Marlin Huisman, 69, Winthrop

Ashley Dee St. Leger, 43, Winthrop, and Adam Jeffrey Custis, 40, Winthrop degree, and married Shirley Steinman in 1950. They built their home in Tiburon, California, at the east end of the peninsula where Chuck could view “the most boats” out on the bay, and sail as a regular on the racing circuits of the Corinthian and St. Francis Yacht Clubs. There they raised their children Charles Michael, Melinda and Daniel. equipment: (509) 557-0481. We are not keeping any now, it’s all in one location. Saturday, May 7, we will have our first outside sidewalk sale. It will be a lot of Western clothes and Western-related items. This coming Friday is the gift basket day after lunch. Also, we now have lunch four days a week: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Rosalie Hutson

Eric loved music and attended many concerts especially Rush, and saw them every opportunity he had. He also played music himself, and had been playing guitar and drums in a band with his good friends. Throughout his life Eric enjoyed fishing, skiing/snowboarding, liked to play chess, being out in the mountains, living in the country of the Methow Valley, and spending time with his family. He was known for his big heart, good sense of humor, and beautiful smile. He was always willing to lend a helping hand.

He is survived by his daughter Sykora, wife Khristina, brother Luke, sisters Lacey and Crystal, mother Mary, father John, stepmother Terri, and stepbrother Ryan. Memorial is on Saturday (April 30) at 2 p.m. at Mack Lloyd Park in Winthrop.

Chuck encouraged his kids to sail and camp and love nature. Chuck served as the captain of the Tiburon Fire Department through the 1960s and early 1970s before becoming a fire protection consultant. He retired from fire protection in the mid1980s in order to captain his 44-foot wooden boat Electra, originally for charter in the Bay Area and then later moving with it up to La Conner, Washington, to simply enjoy exploring the waters of the Puget Sound.

Chuck was the last of his generation on both sides of his family. He was preceded in death by his parents John and Marguerite, brother John, wife Shirley, and his partner Elsa Gruber. He is survived by his sons Michael Pruett (Karen Fisher) of Winthrop, Washington, and Daniel Pruett of San Diego, California; his daughter Melinda Pruett-Jones (Steve) of Chicago, Illinois; and his four grandchildren Ian, Sean, Connor and McKenna.

Chuck’s family sincerely thanks the amazing team of caregivers at Jamie’s Place for their exceptional care and compassion. Remembrances and memorial donations may be made to Jamie’s Place/Methow Valley Family Home Center Association, P.O. Box 1260, Winthrop, WA 98862; www.jamiesplace.org.

Celebrate Arbor Day on Saturday

The Twisp Tree Board encourages residents to take part in the town’s annual Arbor Day Celebration on Saturday (April 30), starting at 11 a.m. in the Twisp Commons Park adjacent to the Methow Valley Community Center.

The event will include a ceremony, a tree giveaway and a tree planting, demonstrating proper planting techniques.

For the 21st consecutive year the Town of Twisp has been awarded “Tree City USA” status by the National Arbor Day Foundation, celebration orga-

Unitarian Fellowship

nizer and tree advocate Dwight Filer reported. The town established a tree board to celebrate the inaugural Arbor Day Event in 2003.

“We will have 100 Ponderosa pine trees to give away , some heritage apricot progeny from Lois McLean’s old growth apricot tree up the West Chewuch, plus some other surprises,” Filer said. ”Firstcome, first-served, so come early.”

For more information, or to volunteer as a helper, email dwight@methownet. com, or call (509) 860-4478.